Devices are known in which windchimes are electromagnetically activated. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,539 proposed a mechanism to activate windchimes using a repulsive magnetic force. However, the invention harnesses the perturbation of a sail by the wind in order to activate the windchimes, and so it is not a truly windless windchime, that is, it cannot work in a windless environment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,208 also uses magnetic repulsive forces to activate the windchimes, and does afford windless activation. However, it is tailored to functioning with only a given set of windchimes, and is optimized for that given set of chimes alone.
The present invention offers an adjustable, versatile windless windchime activation device, which can be modified to accept and activate many different varieties of windchime assembly.
The present invention relates to an electronic windchime device capable of supporting several different kinds of windchime assembly. The main body of the device provides a support arm with a groove that allows suspension of many different types of windchime assembly. It also includes an adjustable, extendable shaft that can be modified to different lengths, to allow optimal activation of the chimes depending on the size of the user""s preferred windchime assembly. A lightweight mass (referred to herein as a sail) is attached to the sound inducing member of the windchime assembly. (The sound inducing member of the windchime assembly is referred to herein as a disc). A permanent magnet attached to this sail is lowered into position above an electromagnet located in the base of the device, for example by adjusting the extendable shaft. When a voltage is applied to the electromagnet, the repulsive force of its magnetic field propelling the permanent magnet of the sail activates the windchimes in the absence of wind.